Yahoo Pays NFL to Stream a Regular-Season Game for Free

On Wednesday, Yahoo announced a partnership with the NFL to stream a regular-season football game across the globe for free.

The game between the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars will take place on October 25 in London and will also air “exclusively” on Yahoo’s Web and app platforms across the globe, with the exception of the teams’ local TV affiliates—meaning that no cable or satellite network, including paid services like DirecTV Sunday Ticket, will air the game. Yahoo will rely on a CBS crew to produce the broadcast, but have not released any more information.

ArsTechnica reported:

“This confirms the news that was released in early March about plans to globally stream the contest though, at the time, neither a provider nor any possible price had been confirmed. A Sports Illustrated report on the announcement claimed that other potential bidders for the digital rights had been turned down due to their desire to attach a pay-per-view charge to the match; meanwhile, an NFL spokesperson told Sports Business Daily that the league had reached out to companies like Google, Amazon, and Apple before signing on with Yahoo.

“For the first time in NFL history, anyone with an internet connection can tune in, exclusively on Yahoo, from anywhere to watch a live football game for free. Whether you’re on your phone, tablet, laptop, console or connected device — we’ve got you covered.”

Could this be the return of free sports streaming? I certainly hope so!